WESTERVILLE, Ohio – After months on the trail touting a major across-the-board tax cut, Mitt Romney walked back expectations Wednesday, telling an Ohio crowd not to look forward to a “huge cut in taxes.”

Mr. Romney’s budget math has faced intense scrutiny as budget experts find it difficult if not impossible to reconcile his plans to increase military spending and cut taxes while also balancing the budget in roughly eight years. The Republican nominee appeared to be acknowledging Wednesday that the tax-rate cut of 20% that he promised for all Americans won’t provide as much relief as some may have hoped.

“I want to bring the rates down,” Mr. Romney said at a rally here Wednesday morning. But “don’t be expecting a huge cut in taxes because I’m also going to lower deductions and exemptions,” he said.

“My priority is jobs,” Mr. Romney added.

Earlier this year Mr. Romney rolled out a sweeping tax plan that would have cut rates by 20% for all Americans. He said he would pay for it by limiting or killing deductions for high-earners and that it would drive economic growth, which would offset the rest of the cost.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Romney didn’t limit himself to cutting deductions solely for the wealthy. Mr. Romney never explained who would count as a high-earner under his tax plan. And recently a staffer offered a scenario that he said could make Mr. Romney’s tax plan workable: Eliminating or trimming deductions for those earning $100,000 or more – a subset of people that may not always view themselves as high-earners, particularly depending on where they live.

The shift in tone came as Mr. Romney focused heavily on the danger the rising national debt poses. He appeared along with a massive debt clock, which tracks the federal debt in close to real time.

“It is immoral for us to pass on obligations like that to the next generation,” Mr. Romney said, as he pointed out that the huge debt already comes with a cost. “The interest that you’re paying on that debt every year is more than we pay for housing, for agriculture, for education and transportation combined.”

He cautioned that the tab has been kept “artificially low” by extraordinary actions taken by the Federal Reserve, which has been purchasing long-term U.S. debt as a measure to boost sluggish economic growth.

“Every time the government goes out to borrow money…they just give the debt to the Federal Reserve that takes it and puts it in their pocket, basically printing more money,” Mr. Romney said. “What’s going to happen when those interest rates go up? That bill’s going to get bigger and bigger.”

The Federal Reserve’s efforts have been designed to lower interest rates and make borrowing cheaper, which has allowed the U.S. government to borrow money at a lower rate that’s also benefiting people borrowing money to purchase homes or automobiles. When the interest rates eventually rise, the cost to finance the government debt will increase as well.

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.